Display control apparatus and control method for display control apparatus

ABSTRACT

A display control apparatus performs control so as to enlarge and display a portion of an image in response to a TELE operation performed while the entire image is being normally displayed, and performs control so as to change an enlargement area of the image to an area corresponding to an in-focus position within an area of the image in response to a press of a set button while the image is being enlarged and displayed. The set button has a function of displaying a FUNK menu when the set button is pressed while the entire image is being normally displayed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a display control apparatus displayingan enlarged image, a control method for the display control apparatus,and a storage medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there has been known a camera that has a function ofdisplaying an enlarged image of a target area in a focus checker (ascreen used when an in-focus position is checked). This function allowsa user to check an in-focus position of an image to be captured.Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-17123 discusses a methodfor displaying an enlarged target area. According to this method, whenan information display switching button is pressed in reproduction mode,a screen transitions to a dedicated screen using the focus checker todisplay the enlarged target area.

In the method discussed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2009-17123, however, a user needs to press the information displayswitching button several times before performing the enlargementoperation, causing a laborious procedure for the user. Further, thismethod has another problem in which the information display switchingbutton is not recognized by a user in spite of being arranged for focuscheck. Consequently, the user who does not recognize the informationdisplay switching button may not know that operation of such a buttonenables a screen to transition to a focus check screen. When such a userintends to check the focus and facial expression of a subject, the useris more likely to enlarge the image first. This enlargement operationcomplicates subsequent operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a display control apparatus and acontrol method therefor capable of shifting a display so that a user cancheck a specific subject by a more intuitive operation method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a display controlapparatus includes a display control unit configured, in response to anoperation with respect to a first operation unit when an entire displayby which an entire image is displayed on a display unit is beingperformed, to control a display so as to switch the entire display to anenlargement display by which a portion of the image is enlarged anddisplayed; and a control unit configured, in response to an operationperformed with respect to a second operation unit different from thefirst operation unit when the enlargement display is being performed, tocontrol a display area of the enlargement display so as to change thedisplay area to an area corresponding to an in-focus position of theimage.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configurationof a digital camera according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internalconfiguration of the digital camera according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of basic processing fromstartup to shutdown of the digital camera according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed whenan instruction for image capturing preparation operation is beingreceived.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performedwhen a reproduction mode is in operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image that is normallydisplayed.

FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an example of processingperformed when an image is displayed in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of attribute informationabout an in-focus position.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screenimmediately after a display transitions from a normal display to anenlargement display.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an enlarged image afteran in-focus position in the enlargement display transitions to a nextin-focus position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the inventionwill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configurationof a digital camera 100 serving as an example of an imaging apparatusaccording to a first exemplary embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the digital camera 100 includes a display unit 28 fordisplaying images and various information. The display unit 28 includesa touch panel, and can detect contact with respect to the display unit28. A shutter button 61 is arranged to issue an image capturinginstruction. A mode dial 60 is an operation member for switching onemode to another within various modes. A connector 112 connects aconnection cable 111 and the digital camera 100.

An operation unit 70 includes operation members such as variousswitches, buttons, and a touch panel to receive various operations froma user. The operation unit 70 includes a controller wheel 73 serving asa rotatable operation member. The controller wheel 73 is used with adirection button when a selection item is instructed. A power switch 72switches between power-on and power-off. A recording medium 200 is, forexample, a memory card and a hard disk. A recording medium slot 201 is aslot in which the recording medium 200 is stored. The recording medium200 stored in the recording medium slot 201 can communicate with thedigital camera 100. A cover 202 covers the recording medium slot 201.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internalconfiguration of the digital camera 100 according to the presentexemplary embodiment.

In FIG. 2, an imaging lens 103 includes a focus lens, and a shutter 101has a diaphragm function. An imaging unit 22 includes a sensor such as acharge coupled device (CCD) sensor and a complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor which convert an optical imageinto electric signals. An analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 23 convertsthe analog signal output from the imaging unit 22 into a digital signal.A barrier 102 covers an imaging optical system including the imaginglens 103, thereby preventing the imaging optical system including theimaging lens 103, the shutter 101, and the imaging unit 22 of thedigital camera 100 from being tainted and damaged.

An image processing unit 24 performs resize processing and colorconversion processing on the data from the A/D converter 23 or the datafrom a memory control unit 15. The resize processing includespredetermined pixel interpolation into the data, and reduction of datasize. Further, the image processing unit 24 performs predeterminedarithmetic processing using image data acquired by capturing an image. Asystem control unit 50 performs light exposure control and focusingcontrol based on the arithmetic result acquired by the image processingunit 24. Thus, automatic focus (AF) processing, automatic exposure (AE)processing, and flash preliminary emission (EF) processing of athrough-the-lens (TTL) method are performed. In addition, the imageprocessing unit 24 performs predetermined arithmetic processing usingimage data acquired by capturing an image, thereby performing automaticwhite balance (AWB) processing of the TTL method based on the acquiredarithmetic result.

The data output from the A/D converter 23 is directly written into amemory 32 through the image processing unit 24 and the memory controlunit 15 or the memory control unit 15. The memory 32 stores image dataacquired from the imaging unit 22 through the A/D converter 23, andimage data to be displayed on the display unit 28. Further, the memory32 has a sufficient capacity for storing image data having thepredetermined number of still images, and moving image data and audiodata each having a predetermined time length. When captured images aresequentially displayed on the display unit 28, an electronic finderfunction (a through-the-lens image display) can be implemented.

The memory 32 also serves as a memory for image display (video memory).A digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 13 converts the image display datastored in the memory 32 into analog signals, and supplies the resultantsignals to the display unit 28. Accordingly, the display image datawritten in the memory 32 is displayed as an image on the display unit 28through the D/A converter 13. The display unit 28 includes a displaydevice such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) on which an image isdisplayed according to the analog signals from the D/A converter 13.

A nonvolatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable and recordablememory. The nonvolatile memory 56 is, for example, an electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM). The nonvolatile memory56 stores constants for operation of the system control unit 50, andprograms. The programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 are used toexecute each of various flowcharts described below in the presentexemplary embodiment.

The system control unit 50 controls the entire digital camera 100. Thesystem control unit 50 executes the program stored in the nonvolatilememory 56 to perform each processing described below according to thepresent exemplary embodiment. A system memory 52 is a random accessmemory (RAM), for example. In the system memory 52, the constants andvariables for the operation of the system control unit 50, and theprogram read from the nonvolatile memory 56 are loaded. Further, thesystem control unit 50 controls the memory 32, the D/A converter 13, andthe display unit 28 to perform a display control.

The mode dial 60, a first shutter switch 62, a second shutter switch 64,and the operation unit 70 serve as operation units for inputting variousoperation instructions to the system control unit 50. The mode dial 60switches the operation mode of the system control unit 50 to an imagingmode in which still images and moving images are recordable, or areproduction mode.

The first shutter switch 62 is turned on when the shutter button 61 ofthe digital camera 100 is operated halfway, i.e., half pressed (an imagecapturing preparation operation is instructed). When turned ON, thefirst shutter switch 62 generates a first shutter switch signal SW1. Thefirst shutter switch signal SW1 initiates operations such as AFprocessing, AE processing, AWB processing, and EF processing(hereinafter, at least one of such processing is referred to as an imagecapturing preparation operation). Each of the processing is controlledby the system control unit 50.

The second shutter switch 64 is turned on when the shutter button 61 isoperated completely, i.e., fully pressed (an image capturinginstruction). When turned on, the second shutter switch 64 generates asecond shutter switch signal SW2. With the second shutter switch signalSW2, the system control unit 50 starts a series of image capturingoperations from the reading of signals from the imaging unit 22 to thewriting of image data in the recording medium 200.

The operation members of the operation unit 70 serve as functionbuttons. An appropriate function is assigned to an operation memberaccording to each situation based on the selection of various functionicons displayed on the display unit 28. For example, the functionbuttons include an end button, a return button, an image advancingbutton, a jump button, a narrow-down button, and an attribute changebutton. For example, when a menu button is pressed, a menu screen byusing which various settings can be set is displayed on the display unit28. A user can intuitively set the various settings using four-directionbuttons, a set button, and the menu screen displayed on the display unit28.

A power supply control unit 80 includes a battery detection circuit, adirect current to direct current (DC-to-DC) converter, and a switchcircuit for switching blocks to be energized. The power supply controlunit 80 detects the presence or absence of an attached battery, a typeof the battery, and a remaining battery capacity. The power supplycontrol unit 80 controls the DC-to-DC converter based on results of suchdetection and an instruction from the system control unit 50 to supplythe necessary voltage for necessary time period to each of the unitsincluding the recording medium 200.

A zoom lever 90 is arranged around the shutter button 61. In the imagingmode, the zoom lever 90 serves as an operation unit for zoom operation.In the reproduction mode, the zoom lever 90 serves as an operation unitfor enlarging an image d and shifting a screen to an index displayscreen. In the present exemplary embodiment, clockwise rotation of thezoom lever 90 is referred to as a TELE operation, whereascounterclockwise rotation of the zoom lever 90 is referred to as a WIDEoperation. When the TELE operation is performed in image capturing, animage is optically zoomed toward a telephoto side (TELE side). When theWIDE operation is performed in image capturing, an image is opticallyzoomed toward a wide-angle side (WIDE side). On the other hand, when theTELE operation is performed in image reproduction (overall display), theimage is enlarged (electronically zoomed in), a screen is switched froma multi-display screen to a single reproduction screen, or the number ofimages displayed on the multi-display screen is reduced. Further, whenthe WIDE operation is performed in image reproduction, the image isreduced (electronically zoomed out), the single reproduction screen isswitched to the multi-display screen, or the number of images displayedon the multi-display screen is increased.

The power supply unit 30 includes a primary battery such as an alkalinebattery and a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as anickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery, a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery,and a lithium (Li) battery, and an alternating current (AC) adaptor. Aninterface 18 is an interface with the recording medium 200 such as amemory card and a hard disk. The recording medium 200 includes asemiconductor memory and a magnetic disk.

The digital camera 100 according to the present exemplary embodimentincludes a touch panel serving as one of the members of the operationunit 70. The touch panel is capable of detecting contact with respect tothe display unit 28. The touch panel and the display unit 28 can beintegrally configured. For example, the touch panel is formed so that adisplay of the display unit 28 is not disturbed by light transmittance,and such a touch panel is attached to an upper layer on a displaysurface of the display unit 28. Then, input coordinates on the touchpanel are associated with display coordinates on the display unit 28,thereby forming a graphical user interface (GUI). Such a GUI enables theuser to operate the touch panel as if the user were directly operating ascreen displayed on the display unit 28.

The system control unit 50 can detect the following states or operationsto the touch panel.

1: A state of the touch panel is changed from an untouched state to astate in which the touch panel is touched by a finger or a pen. That is,a user starts touching the touch panel (hereinafter referred to as“touch-down”).

2: A user is touching the touch panel with the user's finger or a pen(hereinafter referred to as “touch-on”).

3: A user is moving the user's finger or a pen with the finger or pentouching the touch panel (hereinafter referred to as “touch-move”).

4: A user removes the user's finger or a pen touching the touch panelfrom the touch panel (hereinafter referred to as “touch-up”).

5: Nothing is touching the touch panel (hereinafter referred to as“touch-off”).

Such operations/states and position coordinates indicating a position ofthe finger or pen on the touch panel are notified to the system controlunit 50 via an internal bus. The system control unit 50 determines whatoperations have been performed on the touch panel based on the notifiedinformation. As for the touch-move operation, the system control unit 50also determines directions of the finger or the pen moving on the touchpanel with respect to each vertical component and each horizontalcomponent on the touch panel based on changes in position coordinates.Herein, a series of operations from the touch-down to the touch-upthrough a certain touch-move operation on the touch panel is referred toas a stroke drawing operation. In addition, an operation for quicklydrawing a stroke is referred to as a flick. In the flick operation, auser quickly moves the user's finger for a certain distance with thefinger touching the touch panel, and then simply removes the finger fromthe touch panel. In other words, the user quickly slides the user'sfinger on the touch panel like a flick with the finger. When the systemcontrol unit 50 detects the touch-move operation of a predetermineddistance or greater at a predetermined speed or higher followed by thetouch-up operation, the system control unit 50 determines that the flickoperation is performed. Further, when detecting the touch-move operationof a predetermined distance or greater at a speed lower than apredetermined speed, the system control unit 50 determines that a dragoperation is performed. An operation in which one optional point on thescreen is tapped (i.e., pressed and released) is referred to as “asingle touch”, whereas an operation in which one optional point on thescreen is continuously tapped twice (i.e., repeatedly pressed andreleased twice) is referred to as “a double touch”.

Therefore, each of these “flick”, “drag”, “single touch”, and “doubletouch” operations is performed when the user touches one point on thetouch panel with the user's finger or a pen. Hereinafter, a descriptionis given of operations performed when a plurality of points on the touchpanel are being touched down.

A term “pinch” refers to an operation in which a user pinches the touchpanel with two fingers or pens. A term “pinch-in” represents anoperation in which two fingers or pens are placed on the touch panel andthen a distance therebetween is reduced. Meanwhile, a term “pinch-out”represents an operation in which two fingers or pens are placed on thetouch panel and then a distance therebetween is increased. In recentyears, the pinch-out operation is generally used to control enlargementof an image being displayed on the touch panel, whereas the pinch-inoperation is generally used to control reduction of an image beingdisplayed on the touch panel. In the present exemplary embodiment, apoint in the middle of two points in the pinch state, that is, a pointin the middle of two points being touched down, is referred to as “apinch center point”. Further, the touch panel of the present exemplaryembodiment can be any type among various touch panel types such as aresistance film type, a capacitance type, a surface acoustic wave type,an infrared type, an electromagnetic induction type, an imagerecognition type, and an optical sensor type.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of basic processing fromstartup to shutdown of the digital camera 100 according to the presentexemplary embodiment. The processing illustrated in FIG. 3 is executedby the system control unit 50. The system control unit 50 loads theprogram recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56 to the system memory 52,and executes the loaded program to implement the processing illustratedin FIG. 3.

When a user operates the power switch 72 to turn on the digital camera100, the processing of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3 starts. Instep S301, the system control unit 50 determines whether the digitalcamera 100 is in the imaging mode based on a position of the mode dial60. If the system control unit 50 determines that the digital camera 100is in the imaging mode (YES in step S301), the operation proceeds tostep S303. If the digital camera 100 is not in the imaging mode (NO instep S301), the operation proceeds to step S302. In step S302, thesystem control unit 50 determines whether the digital camera 100 is inthe reproduction mode based on a position of the mode dial 60. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the digital camera 100 is in thereproduction mode (YES in step S302), then in step S306, the systemcontrol unit 50 performs reproduction mode processing. The reproductionmode processing (signal reproduction) is described in detail below. Onthe other hand, if the system control unit 50 determines that thedigital camera 100 is not in the reproduction mode (NO in step S302),the operation proceeds to step S304.

In step S303, the system control unit 50 performs imaging modeprocessing. Herein, the imaging mode processing includes operations forcapturing a still image and a moving image. In step S304, the systemcontrol unit 50 performs other processing. Herein, the other processingincludes processing in clock display mode in which only current time isdisplayed. When each of the mode processing is finished, the operationproceeds to step S305. In step S305, the system control unit 50determines whether an instruction for the shutdown of operation of thedigital camera 100 is received by operating the power switch 72 by theuser. If the system control unit 50 determines that the shutdowninstruction is received (YES in step S305), the operation ends. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the shutdown instruction is notreceived (NO in step S305), the operation returns to step S301.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on thedisplay unit 28 when the shutter button 61 is being half pressed in theimaging mode (when an instruction for image capturing preparationoperation is being received). In the example illustrated in FIG. 4,there are three in-focus positions. The in-focus positions andinformation of the number of in-focus positions at this time arerecorded as tag information with an image file in the recording medium200 after the shutter button 61 is fully pressed (after the image iscaptured).

Hereinafter, a suitable method for checking an in-focus positionaccording to the present exemplary embodiment is described, byintuitively checking the in-focus position without a laborious procedurein the reproduction mode.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of reproduction processingperformed in the reproduction mode. The processing illustrated in FIG. 5is executed by the system control unit 50. The system control unit 50loads the program stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 to the systemmemory 52, and executes the loaded program to implement the processingillustrated in FIG. 5.

In step S501, the system control unit 50 reads image data from therecording medium 200, and displays an image of the read image data onthe display unit 28 so that one entire image is displayed within onescreen. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the imagedisplayed on the display unit 28 by performing the processing in stepS501.

Subsequently, in step S502, the system control unit 50 determineswhether rotation of the zoom lever 90 by the user for the TELE operationis detected. If the system control unit 50 determines that the TELEoperation is detected (YES in step S502), then in step S508, the systemcontrol unit 50 performs enlargement display processing which isdescribed in detail below. On the other hand, if the system control unit50 determines that the TELE operation is not detected (NO in step S502),the operation proceeds to step S503.

In step S503, the system control unit 50 determines whether a press of aset button by the user is detected. If the system control unit 50determines that a press of the set button detected (YES in step S503),the operation proceeds to step S504. If a press of the set button is notdetected (NO in step S503), the operation proceeds to step S505.

In step S504, the system control unit 50 performs processing assigned tothe set button in the single reproduction. In the present exemplaryembodiment, when the set button is pressed during the singlereproduction, a selection menu (hereinafter referred to as a FUNC menu)is displayed on the display unit 28. The FUNC menu includes, forexample, a menu item for instructing slide-show reproduction, and a menuitem for adding attribute information such as a favorite andclassification information, and protect to the displayed image. Inaddition, the FUNC menu includes a menu item for deleting the displayedimage, and a menu item for designating the printing of the displayedimage.

In the present exemplary embodiment, when the FUNC menu is displayed,the operation illustrated in FIG. 5 once ends so that processing for theFUNC menu is performed. An operation state of the processing for theFUNC menu differs from that of the single reproduction processing. Whenthe processing for the FUNC menu ends, the operation returns to thesingle reproduction processing in step S501.

On the other hand, in step S505, the system control unit 50 determineswhether operations of other buttons are detected. If the system controlunit 50 determines that any of the other buttons is pressed (YES in stepS505), the operation proceeds to step S506 to perform the processingcorresponding to the pressed button. If the system control unit 50determines that any of the other buttons is not pressed (NO in stepS505), the operation proceeds to step S507.

Herein, the operations of the other buttons include operations relatingto the four-direction buttons. For example, the system control unit 50performs processing according to a direction of a pressed button amongthe four-direction buttons. If a vertical button is pressed (YES in stepS505), then in step S506, the system control unit 50 issues aninstruction of deletion, transfer, or protection of the image. If ahorizontal button is pressed (YES in step S505), then in step S506, thesystem control unit 50 advances the image (displays a next image or aprevious image). Alternatively, if the user performs a touch-moveoperation in a left direction or a right direction on the touch panel,the system control unit 50 advances the image. Further, if the userperforms a touch-move operation in a vertical direction, the systemcontrol unit 50 transfers, deletes, or protects the image as touchgesture processing according to a locus of the touch-move operation.

In addition, the operations of the other buttons include the WIDEoperation of the zoom lever 90. In such a case, in step S506, the systemcontrol unit 50 shifts a screen to an index display screen (amulti-display screen) which displays a list of a plurality of images.Subsequently, the operation returns to step S502.

On the other hand, the system control unit 50 determines whether aninstruction to end the reproduction mode is received. The reproductionmode ends, for example, when the power switch 72 is operated by theuser, and when the mode dial 60 is operated by the user to shift theoperation mode to the imaging mode. If the system control unit 50determines that the reproduction mode end instruction is received (YESin step S507), the processing ends. If the system control unit 50determines that the reproduction mode end instruction is not received(NO in step S507), the operation returns to step S502.

FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an example of theenlargement display processing performed in step S508 of the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 5. The system control unit 50 loads the programstored in the nonvolatile memory 56 to the system memory 52, andexecutes the loaded program to implement the processing illustrated inFIG. 7.

In step S701, the system control unit 50 enlarges the image displayed inthe single reproduction to double to display one area from the entireimage. Herein, the image is enlarged with respect to the center of theimage. In other words, the center of the image displayed in the singledisplay is in the same position as that of the one area of the imagedisplayed by the enlargement display processing performed in step S701.

Subsequently, in step S702, the system control unit 50 sets a focus jumpmode to OFF to initialize the focus jump mode. More specifically, thesystem control unit 50 sets a focus jump mode flag stored in the systemmemory 52 to OFF. Herein, the focus jump mode flag indicates whether theimage has jumped to an in-focus position at least once since the setbutton is pressed. If the image has jumped to the in-focus position, andthe focus jump mode flag is ON, the system control unit 50 determinesthat the focus jump mode is ON. When the processing is performed in stepS702, the display simply transitions from the normal display to theenlargement display. Thus, there is no history of the jump, and thefocus jump mode is set to OFF.

In step S703, the system control unit 50 initializes a designation framevariable i stored in the system memory 52. The designation framevariable i is a variable that designates the order of focus frames to bedisplayed in an enlarged manner. Hereinafter, the focus frame order isdescribed.

In image data of a reproduction target, information relating to anin-focus position at the time of image capturing is stored as attributeinformation. For example, FIG. 8 illustrates a relationship betweenfocus frame order and in-focus positions of the images illustrated inFIG. 6. As illustrated in the example in FIG. 8, images of faces and thein-focus positions may be related. However, identification (ID) isprovided to each of the in-focus positions, so that each in-focusposition is managed as information indicating the area indicated bycoordinates within the image or one point of a focus center position.Accordingly, the information of the in-focus position is recorded as theattribute information of the image data.

In the example in FIG. 8, the AF setting at the image capturing is setto face AF that allows the digital camera 100 to focus a face aspriority. Accordingly, each of all the in-focus positions illustrated inFIG. 8 is a face area. Although the AF setting at the image capturing isset to the face AF, a face area may not be focused in a case where asubject does not include a face. For example, in a case where an imageof landscape or an image of an object is captured, there is no face.Further, in a case where an image of a face is captured by using thesetting other than the face AF setting, a face area may not be in anin-focus position.

When the designation frame variable i is determined, the system controlunit 50 sets subjects in descending order of priority from a mainsubject when image of the subjects is captured. Further, informationindicating which in-focus position is the in-focus position of the mainsubject is stored as the attribute information of the image data. In theimage illustrated in FIG. 6, if the setting was determined so that aface in the middle at the time of image capturing should be a mainsubject, the face in the middle has the highest priory in the focusframe order. Thus, the designation frame variable i=1. Similarly, thesystem control unit 50 prioritizes the other focus frames accordingly,for example, the designation frame variable i=2, 3, and so on. Assumethat the designation frame variable i has an upper limit ofapproximately 20. When the processing is performed in step S703, thedisplay simply transitions from the normal display to the enlargementdisplay, and thus, in-focus position is not designated. Consequently,the designation frame variable=0.

Subsequently, in step S704, the system control unit 50 refers to theattribute information of the displayed enlarged image to determinewhether there is at least one in-focus position. If the system controlunit 50 determines that there is at least one in-focus position (YES instep S704), the operation proceeds to step S705. On the other hand, ifthere is no in-focus position (NO in step S704), the operation proceedsto step S706. In step S705, the system control unit 50 displays an icon901, which indicates that the display can transition to a focus jumpmode by pressing the set button, on the enlarged image.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayedimmediately after a normal display has transitioned to an enlargementdisplay in a case where there is at least one in-focus position. A usermay not anticipate that the display can transition from the enlargementdisplay to the focus jump mode to check the in-focus position. In thepresent exemplary embodiment, therefore, the icon 901 illustrated inFIG. 9 is displayed as a guide to the user. The icon 901 represents thatthe enlarged area can jump to the in-focus position by operating the setbutton.

Subsequently, in step S706, the system control unit 50 determineswhether a press of the set button by the user is detected. If the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that a press of the set button is detected(YES in step S706), the operation proceeds to step S707. On the otherhand, if a press of the set button is not detected (NO in step S706),the operation proceeds to step S712. In step S707, the system controlunit 50 refers to the attribute information of the displayed enlargedimage to determine whether there is at least one in-focus position. Ifthe system control unit 50 determines that there is at least onein-focus position (YES in step S707), the operation proceeds to stepS708. On the other hand, if there is no in-focus position (NO in stepS707), the operation returns to step S706.

In step S708, the system control unit 50 refers to the focus jump modeflag stored in the system memory 52 to determine whether the focus jumpmode is ON. If the system control unit 50 determines that the focus jumpmode is ON (YES in step S708), the operation proceeds to step S710. Onthe other hand, if the focus jump mode is OFF (NO in step S708), theoperation proceeds to step S709. When the set button is pressed firstafter transition of the display from the normal display to theenlargement display, the focus jump mode is OFF. Accordingly, theoperation proceeds to step S709.

In step S709, the system control unit 50 sets the focus jump mode flagstored in the system memory 52 to ON, thereby setting the focus jumpmode to ON. Further, the system control unit 50 displays a focus jumpicon 1001 as illustrated in FIG. 10 instead of the icon 901 displayed instep S705. A display format of the focus jump icon 1001 differs fromthat of the icon 901 illustrated in FIG. 9. The focus jump icon 1001indicates that an enlargement position can be changed to a next in-focusposition in the next order in response to the press of the set button.

In step S710, the system control unit 50 increments the designationframe variable i, which is stored in the system memory 52, by one. Whenthe set button is pressed first after transition of the display from thenormal display to the enlargement display, the designation framevariable i=1.

Subsequently, in step S711, the system control unit 50 changes a region(an enlargement area) to be displayed on the display unit 28 to theenlarged image at the in-focus position in the order indicated by thedesignation frame variable i. In other words, the system control unit 50changes the enlargement area in such a manner that a center of an areaor one point indicated by information of the in-focus position in i-thorder of the focus frame as a destination among pieces of information ofthe in-focus positions included in the attribute information of theimage becomes a center of an area be displayed. Accordingly, theenlargement area jumps so that the center of the in-focus position ini-th order of the focus frame is enlarged and displayed. Therefore, theuser can check the focus using the displayed enlarged image.Subsequently, in step S706, the system control unit 50 waits forreceiving an event.

On the other hand, in step S712, the system control unit 50 determineswhether the TELE operation of the zoom lever 90 by the user is detected.If the system control unit 50 determines that the TELE operationperformed by the user is detected (YES in step S712), the operationproceeds to step S713. On the other hand, if the TELE operationperformed by the user is not detected (NO in step S712), the operationproceeds to step S714. In step S713, the system control unit 50 changesan enlargement ratio to further enlarge the displayed image. Since theimage is displayed at an enlargement ratio of two times immediatelyafter transition of the display from the normal display to theenlargement display, the enlargement ratio becomes greater than twotimes in step S713. Further, the system control unit 50 sets the focusjump mode to ON. Then, the operation returns to step S706. In step S706,the system control unit 50 waits for receiving an event.

In step S714, the system control unit 50 determines whether the WIDEoperation of the zoom lever 90 by the user is detected. If the systemcontrol unit 50 determines that the WIDE operation performed by the useris detected (YES in step S714), the operation proceeds to step S715. Onthe other hand, if the WIDE operation performed by the user is notdetected (NO in step S714), the operation proceeds to step S717.

In step S715, the system control unit 50 determines whether thecurrently displayed image is displayed at the enlargement ratio of twotimes. If the system control unit 50 determines that the image isdisplayed at the enlargement ratio of two times (YES in step S715), thedisplay needs to return to the normal display. Thus, the operationproceeds to step S501 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5. On theother hand, if the system control unit 50 determines that the image isnot displayed at the enlargement ratio of two times (NO in step S715),the operation proceeds to step S716. In step S716, the system controlunit 50 changes the enlargement ratio to reduce the size of thedisplayed image. Assume that the reduced image herein is larger thantwice the enlargement ratio in the normal display. Then, the operationreturns to step S706 in which the system control unit 50 waits forreceiving an event.

In step S717, the system control unit 50 determines whether an operationof any of the four-direction buttons or the touch-move operation on thetouch panel is detected. These operations are performed by the user tooptionally change a display area of the enlargement display. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the operation of thefour-direction button or the touch-move operation on the touch panel isdetected (YES in step S717), the operation proceeds to step S718. On theother hand, if the operation of the four-direction button or thetouch-move operation on the touch panel is not detected (NO in stepS717), the operation proceeds to step S719. In step S718, the systemcontrol unit 50 changes the display area of the enlargement displaytoward a direction according to the operation of the four-directionbutton or the touch-move operation. The enlargement area at this timecan be changed. Although the in-focus position is set to a face, theface can be displayed in a position other than the in-focus position. Inother words, the enlargement area in the enlargement display can bechanged to an optional position by user operation.

In step S719, the system control unit 50 determines whether to finishthe enlargement display based on the criterion which is similar to thatapplied in step S507 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5. If thesystem control unit 50 determines that the enlargement display should befinished (YES in step S719), the processing ends. On the other hand, ifthe system control unit 50 determines that the enlargement displayshould not be finished (NO in step S719), the operation returns to stepS706 in which the system control unit 50 waits for receiving an event.

If the designation frame variable i is greater than one (i>1) after theprocessing is shifted to the enlargement display processing, the systemcontrol unit 50 repeatedly performs the processing of steps S706, S707,S708, S710, and S711. Accordingly, in a case where there is a pluralityof in-focus positions, the user can sequentially check whether each ofthe focuses is adjusted by sequentially enlarging the plurality ofin-focus positions by repeatedly pressing the set button. In the presentexemplary embodiment, therefore, after the reproduction mode isactivated, the user once performs the TELE operation. This TELEoperation causes the normal display to transition to the enlargementdisplay. Subsequently, the user presses the set button, so that theenlargement display jumps, thereby arranging the center of the in-focusposition in the enlargement area. Accordingly, the present exemplaryembodiment can provide the intuitive operation method which allows theuser to check the focus.

The present exemplary embodiment has been described using a case inwhich the in-focus positions included in the attribute information ofthe image are sequentially enlarged and displayed as jump targets.However, the present exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. Forexample, face areas of human figures may be sequentially enlarged anddisplayed regardless of the in-focus positions. In such a case, in theprocessing in step S704, the system control unit 50 determines whetherthere is information of the face areas in the attribute information ofthe image. The system control unit 50 also determines whether the facesare detected after face detection processing is performed on the imagedata which is being reproduced. If either of the conditions is satisfied(YES in step S704), the operation proceeds to step S705 in which thesystem control unit 50 displays an icon indicating that the display cantransition to a face jump mode by pressing the set button. In step S707,the system control unit 50 determines whether the face-related conditionis satisfied in a similar manner to the determination made in step S704.Further, the designation frame variable i designates a face to bedisplayed in an enlarged manner among the plurality of faces.

Further, the in-focus position and the face position may be combined toprovide a jump target. In such a case, in step S704, the system controlunit 50 determines whether there is information of the in-focus positionin the attribute information of the image, whether there is informationof a face area in the attribute information of the image, and whetherthe face is detected as a result of face detection processing performedon the image data which is being reproduced. If at least one of theseconditions is satisfied (YES in step S704), the operation proceeds tostep S705. In step S705, the system control unit 50 displays an iconindicating that the display can transition to an in-focus position/faceposition jump mode by pressing the set button. In step S707, the systemcontrol unit 50 determines whether the in-focus position-relatedcondition and the face-related condition are satisfied in a similarmanner to the determination made in step S704.

Further, the designation frame variable i can be a variable fordesignating an enlargement display of any of a single or a plurality ofin-focus positions, and a single or a plurality of faces. First, jumporders are designated (jump order designated by the designation framevariable i) in descending order of focus frame priority (in order fromfirst to last). Secondly, the jump orders are designated in descendingorder of face priority. Then, the jump orders are again designated indescending order of focus frame priority. More specifically, when theset button is pressed with the enlarged image being displayed, anin-focus position of a main subject is first displayed in theenlargement area. Thereafter, when the set button is repeatedly pressed,enlarged images at the in-focus positions are sequentially displayed indescending order of the focus frame priority. Subsequently, enlargedface images are sequentially displayed in descending order of the facepriority. Lastly, the enlarged image at the in-focus position having thehigh focus frame priority is again displayed. Such a procedure reducesconfusion between the in-focus position and the face.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, the focus jump icon 1001is displayed in step S709 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 7.However, a face motif icon may be used instead of the focus jump icon1001 if the system control unit 50 knows beforehand that a next area tobe selected is a face. In such a case, the face motif icon can moreexplicitly indicate that a jump destination is a face area. Further, inthe present exemplary embodiment, the function of the set button duringthe single reproduction (during the normal display) is allocated to thedisplay of the FUNC menu. However, since the display of the FUNC menu isrestricted during the enlargement display, another operation can beassigned to the function of the set button during the enlargementdisplay. Therefore, in the present exemplary embodiment, the focus jumpfunction is assigned to the set button in the enlargement display. Thisenables the user to intuitively perform an operation with few operationmembers.

As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment,during the enlargement display, the function of jumping to the focusposition is assigned to the operation member to which a function is notconventionally assigned. This enables the user to more intuitively checkthe in-focus position with fewer procedures.

The system control unit 50 may comprehensively control the digitalcamera 100 using one hardware or a plurality of hardware. If theplurality of hardware is used, processing can be shared. The presentinvention has been described using the exemplary embodiments. However,the present invention is not limited thereto. The present inventionencompasses all modifications and alternations within the gist of thepresent invention. Further, the present invention can include acombination of each of the above exemplary embodiments.

In the above exemplary embodiments, the present invention has beendescribed using the digital camera 100 as an example, but not limitedthereto. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention may beapplied to a display control apparatus including a plurality ofoperation units. More specifically, aspects of the present invention maybe applied to a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), amobile phone terminal, and a mobile image viewer.

Aspects of the present invention may be achieved by executing thefollowing processing. Specifically, the software (programs) forperforming the functions of the above exemplary embodiments is suppliedto a system or a device through a network or various storage media, sothat a computer (or a CPU or a micro-processing unit (MPU)) of such asystem or device reads a program code to execute the processing. In thiscase, the present invention includes such a program and acomputer-readable storage medium storing the program.

According to the present invention, a user can transition the display soas to check a specific subject by a more intuitive operation method.

Other Embodiments

Embodiments of the present invention can also be realized by a computerof a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executableinstructions recorded on a storage medium (e.g., non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium) to perform the functions of one ormore of the above-described embodiment(s) of the present invention, andby a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, forexample, reading out and executing the computer executable instructionsfrom the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of theabove-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more ofa central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU), or othercircuitry, and may include a network of separate computers or separatecomputer processors. The computer executable instructions may beprovided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storagemedium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of ahard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), astorage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2013-170693 filed Aug. 20, 2013, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display control apparatus comprising: a displaycontrol unit configured, in response to an operation with respect to afirst operation unit when an entire display by which an entire image isdisplayed on a display unit is being performed, to control a display soas to switch the entire display to an enlargement display by which aportion of the image is enlarged and displayed; and a control unitconfigured, in response to an operation performed with respect to asecond operation unit different from the first operation unit when theenlargement display is being performed, to control a display area of theenlargement display so as to change the display area to an areacorresponding to an in-focus position of the image.
 2. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitchanges, when an operation with respect to the second operation unit isfurther performed after the display area of the enlargement display ischanged to the area corresponding to the in-focus position of the image,the display area of the enlargement display to an area corresponding toanother in-focus position of the image.
 3. The display control apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the control unit changes, when anoperation with respect to the second operation unit is further performedafter the display area of the enlargement display is changed to the areacorresponding to the in-focus position of the image, the display area ofthe enlargement display to an area corresponding to a position of a facedetected from the image.
 4. The display control apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the display control unit displays, when the entiredisplay is switched to the enlargement display in response to theoperation with respect to the first operation unit, an enlarged imageand a guidance of a function to be performed according to the operationof the second operation unit in the enlargement display.
 5. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display control unitperforms control, in response to the operation performed with respect tothe second operation unit when the enlargement display is beingperformed, to change a display style of the guidance or to displayanother guidance indicating a function of the second operation unit suchthat the other guidance is displayed.
 6. The display control apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs a control, inresponse to the operation performed with respect to the second operationunit when the entire display is being performed, different from acontrol by which the display area is changed to the area correspondingto the in-focus position of the image.
 7. The display control apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein the control unit performs control, inresponse to the operation of the second operation unit when the entiredisplay is being performed, to display a menu for selecting processingwith respect to the image to be selected.
 8. The display controlapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performscontrol, when there is no in-focus position in the image although theoperation with respect to the second operation unit is performed duringthe enlargement display, not to change the display area of theenlargement display.
 9. The display control apparatus according to claim4, wherein the display control unit performs control, when there is noin-focus position in the image upon switching from the entire display tothe enlargement display in response to the operation with respect to thefirst operation unit, not to display the guidance.
 10. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitperforms control, in response to an operation performed with respect toa third operation unit when the enlargement display is being performed,to change the display area of the enlargement display to a positioncorresponding to the operation with respect to the third operation unit.11. A display control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein thedisplay control unit displays, when the entire display is switched tothe enlargement display in response to the operation with respect to thefirst operation unit, an enlarged image and a guidance of a function tobe performed according to the operation of the second operation unit inthe enlargement display, and wherein the display control unit performscontrol, in response to the operation performed with respect to thesecond operation unit when the enlargement display is being performed, adifferent guidance to be displayed instead of the guidance depending onwhether a destination of the enlargement area in a case where the secondoperation unit is operated next time is an in-focus position or a faceposition.
 12. A display control apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising an acquisition unit configured to acquire information of anin-focus position from attribute information of an image, wherein thecontrol unit performs control, based on the in-focus position acquiredby the acquisition unit from the attribute information of the displayedimage, to change the display area of the enlargement display to an areacorresponding to the in-focus position of the image.
 13. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display controlapparatus is an imaging apparatus including an imaging unit.
 14. Adisplay control apparatus, comprising: a display control unitconfigured, in response to an operation with respect to a firstoperation unit when an entire display by which an entire image isdisplayed on a display unit is being performed, to perform control so asto switch the entire display to an enlargement display by which aportion of the image is enlarged and displayed; and a control unitconfigured, in response to an operation performed with respect to asecond operation unit different from the first operation unit when theenlargement display is being performed, to perform control so as tochange a display area of the enlargement display to an areacorresponding to a position of a face included in the image.
 15. Acontrol method for a display control apparatus, comprising: performingcontrol, in response to an operation performed with respect to a firstoperation unit when an entire display by which an image is entirelydisplayed on a display unit is being performed, so as to switch theentire display to an enlargement display by which one portion of theimage is enlarged and displayed; and performing control, in response toan operation performed with respect to a second operation unit differentfrom the first operation unit when the enlargement display is beingperformed, so as to change a display area of the enlargement display toan area corresponding to an in-focus position of the image.
 16. Acontrol method for the display control apparatus, comprising: performingcontrol, in response to an operation performed with respect to a firstoperation unit when an entire display by which an image is entirelydisplayed on a display unit is being performed, so as to switch theentire display to an enlargement display by which one portion of theimage is enlarged and displayed; and performing control, in response toan operation performed with respect to a second operation unit differentfrom the first operation unit when the enlargement display is beingperformed, so as to change a display area of the enlargement display toan area corresponding to a position of a face included in the image. 17.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program forcausing a computer to execute the control method for the display controlapparatus according to claim
 15. 18. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute thecontrol method for the display control apparatus according to claim 16.